Well, I don't know who was clamoring for this, but since it really doesn't seem to even resemble the old show in anything but the title and occasional shots of random girls running in swimsuits, I guess they might as well take a mismatched buddy movie and slap it with a recognized brand name for a title, right? Basically, this looks like shit, which is most movies starring The Rock. Sorry if you're a fan but he hasn't starred in a decent movie since 2003's The Rundown.
REVIEW: "The Witch" (2016) Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson. Dir. Robert Eggars
A movie like The Witch is a strange thing to behold. On many levels, it’s unlike other films, which is almost always a good thing, knowing how hard it is for something to stand out from the pack. Yet an experimental project still has to work on its own level, and whether this does is an open question, depending on the viewer’s willingness to be receptive to this unorthodox experience and allow the film to wash over you.
It doesn’t make it easy and it never feels normal. Yet the confidence from first time filmmaker Robert Eggars is astonishing in his intentions and ambition. We drop in on a Puritan family in the 1600’s, one that is banished from its presumably New England community and forced to make the trek to the outskirts of the village, setting up a new home in the dark, cold, fringe of a woods that’s rumored to be haunted by vague spooks and even witches. The protagonist of this eccentric film is the oldest daughter, played by newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy, a teenager with saucer-sized eyes that give her an already otherworldly look that aids in bringing us under her spell. She feels vaguely trapped by this existence but cannot articulate her concerns, not that we’d necessarily understand them even if she did.
That brings me to the the barrier that may keep most people out of this movie’s entry points no matter what happens in the story, and that’s the dialogue itself. Eggars chose to use 17th century Latin influenced dialect- that’s right, there’s a lot of thees, thous and therefores, and the bold use of such an artificial construct is a risky move in terms of accessibility. Some people will never get used to hearing interactions in this manner, and no matter what the source material, there’s no historical assertions you can make to prove people actually spoke like this, even in another time. The effect is to make some of this feel like a stage play, which is yet another barrier to any sense of reality you may be expecting.
If you can get used to these constructs and throw yourself in head first, there’s a haunting and eery sense of atmosphere that floods the entire film. This isn’t exactly a horror movie, but a feeling of dread pervades every moment of it, partly brought about by the sense of a puritan lifestyle being terrorized by evils they cannot understand. The unknown actors do their best with the material, which necessarily inspires some downright histrionic acting when the horrors get ever worse and take their toll on the family. It’s hard to know whether to recommend this film to anyone, knowing very well that some will reject it from the first frame and others will fall in love. I’m a bit stuck on both sides. I was never quite pulled in by the dialogue, but some scenes are so well-directed that it’d be cinematic treason not to commend them. I scoffed in disbelief at certain turns of plot, yet was brought to Cloud 9 by the absolutely transcendent and audacious ending. The only solution is for everyone to see it for themselves. And I’m definitely intrigued by wherever it is Eggars goes next.
* * *
Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit, Utah and Southeastern Film Critics Make their Picks
Whew. Five more regional and third tier critics organizations today, but hey, Emma Stone's finally on the board! Yes, she finally wins Best Actress from some critics, with both Detroit and Utah going for her performance in La La Land. Maybe it's still a race after all.
KANSAS CITY
'Manchester By the Sea' gets a Best Picture prize
- Picture: Manchester by the Sea
- Director: Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
- Actress: Natalie Portman (Jackie)
- Actor: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
- Supporting Actress: (tie) Viola Davis (Fences) & Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
- Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
- Original Screenplay: Hell or High Water
- Adapted Screenplay: Arrival
- Foreign-Language Film: The Handmaiden
- Documentary: OJ: Made in America
- Animated Movie: Zootopia
- SciFi, Fantasy & Horror: Arrival
- LGBT Film: Moonlight
Kansas City's choices are pretty boring, although I believe aside from NBR, this is the first group of any kind to give Manchester the Best Picture win, which is interesting. It even got director here, too.
ST. LOUIS
'I Am Not Your Negro' is a favorite to be nominated in Documentary
- BEST FILM: “La La Land”
- BEST DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
- BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
- BEST ACTRESS: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis, “Fences”
- BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: “Love and Friendship”
- BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: “Hell or High Water”
- BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: “La La Land”
- BEST EDITING: “Jackie”
- BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: “The Handmaiden”
- BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: “The Jungle Book”
- BEST MUSIC SCORE: “La La Land”
- BEST MUSIC SOUNDTRACK: “Sing Street”
- BEST SONG: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from “La La Land”
- BEST ACTION: “Captain America: Civil War”
- BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: “Zootopia”
- BEST COMEDY: “Hail, Caesar!”
- BEST DOCUMENTARY: “I Am Not Your Negro”
- BEST HORROR/SCI-FI: “The Witch”
- BEST FOREIGN FILM: “Elle”
Meanwhile, KC's sister city goes for La La Land all down the line, so maybe they were trying to be different. These guys also made a great pick in documentary, with I Am Not Your Negro taking the prize, along with an unconventional choice in Love & Friendship for Adapted Screenplay.
UTAH
Emma Stone finally wins a couple of Best Actress awards
- Best Picture: "La La Land"
- Directing: Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight"
- Lead Actor, Male: Casey Affleck, "Manchester by the Sea"
- Lead Actor, Female: Emma Stone, "La La Land"
- Supporting Actor, Female: Viola Davis, "Fences"
- Supporting Actor, Male: (tie) Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight," John Goodman, "10 Cloverfield Lane."
- Original Screenplay: "Hell or High Water"
- Adapted Screenplay: "Moonlight"
- Cinematography: "La La Land"
- Original Score: "La La Land"
- Documentary Feature: "Cameraperson"
- Animated Feature: "Kubo and the Two Strings"
- Non-English Language Film: "The Handmaiden" (South Korea)
Now here's where Emma finally picks up an award, with the Best Actress prize from the Utah film critics, who liked La La Land enough to reward its lead actress with it, making it her first win since the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival. Nice.
DETROIT
Greta Gerwig ties with Viola Davis in Supporting Actress for '20th Century Women'
- BEST PICTURE: LA LA LAND
- BEST DIRECTOR: DAMIEN CHAZELLE – LA LA LAND
- BEST ACTOR: CASEY AFFLECK – MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- BEST ACTRESS: EMMA STONE – LA LA LAND
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: JEFF BRIDGES – HELL OR HIGH WATER
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: VIOLA DAVIS - FENCES & GRETA GERWIG – 20TH CENTURY WOMEN (tie)
- BEST ENSEMBLE: 20TH CENTURY WOMEN
- BEST BREAKTHROUGH: KELLY FREMON CRAIG – THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN – DIRECTOR/WRITER
- BEST SCREENPLAY: LA LA LAND
- BEST DOCUMENTARY: O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA
Another one for Stone! She had a good two days all of a sudden, even if these wins are from third tier critics organizations. The final group, the SE critics, went for Moonlight and divided up the rest among the usual suspects.
SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS
'Zootopia' continues to hold its position over 'Kubo and the Two Strings' as Animated frontrunner
- BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
- BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman (Jackie)
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis (Fences)
- BEST ENSEMBLE: Moonlight
- BEST DIRECTOR: (tie) – Damien Chazelle (La La Land) & Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
- BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Manchester by the Sea
- BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Moonlight
- BEST DOCUMENTARY: I Am Not Your Negro
- BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM: The Handmaiden
- BEST ANIMATED FILM: Zootopia
- BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: La La Land
- BEST PICTURE: Moonlight
Harrison Ford Returns in Sequel to 'Blade Runner'
So I guess Harrison Ford is just going to reprise every single one of his career-defining roles for their decades later sequels/reboots, etc? The sucky thing about him coming back for this one is that this confirms his character in the original was officially not a replicant. Right? Which takes away all that great ambiguity from the final scene. Arrival's Denis Villeneuve was tapped to direct this, and though he's actually not a bad replacement for Ridley Scott's cold, distant touch, I don't know how they can possibly recreate the most iconic thing about Blade Runner, which was its set design and special effects, some of the most influential of all time. It's now all CGI of course, but that can't possibly look the same as the effects from 1982. Even if they're technically "better," it won't be the same city.
Oscar Shortlists for Visual Effects and Foreign Film Are Out
The Academy has announced the shortlists for some of its specialized categories, and the one with the biggest omissions has got to be its foreign-language film list. Here are the nine films to advance in the foreign film race for this year:
- Tanna (Australia)
- It's Only the End of the World (Canada)
- Land of Mine (Denmark)
- Toni Erdmann (Germany)
- The Salesman (Iran)
- The King's Choice (Norway)
- Paradise (Russia)
- A Man Called Ove (Sweden)
- My Life as a Zucchini (Switzerland)
Okay, so the big snub here is Paul Verhoeven's Elle, from France. It was universally acclaimed and Isabelle Huppert is still considered to have a good chance for the Oscar nomination, but I was never totally sure that would make it in here. The Academy's foreign-language film committee is still pretty stuffy, and ever since I saw it I doubted that a black comedy with such violent rape scenes (and that a lot of people frankly consider to be pulp) would make the cut. So I was less shocked about that omission than others. It's also apparent that South Korea really should have submitted The Handmaiden instead of The Age of Shadows, which didn't even make it to the shortlist, while the former won great acclaim at Cannes, is now being hailed by critics everywhere and probably could have. Finally, the animated My Life as a Zucchini (above) is a surprise to see here, as I figured that one was going to be a sure bet from the animated branch, but I'd be shocked to see it nominated in Foreign-Language as well. The frontrunner for this category remains Germany's Toni Erdmann though, which has won many critics prizes and just swept the European Film Awards as well.
VISUAL EFFECTS
- Arrival
- The BFG
- Captain America: Civil War
- Deepwater Horizon
- Doctor Strange
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- The Jungle Book
- Kubo and the Two Strings
- Passengers
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Meanwhile, the Oscar race for visual effects has advanced ten films to the finals, and I have a strong feeling that The Jungle Book is probably the frontrunner in this category, given that the whole film is basically a visual effect, aside from Mowgli himself. My prediction for the final five is Arrival, Doctor Strange, Jungle Book, Fantastic Beasts and....Rogue One? Well, it's between that and The BFG to be honest. The latter was a massive flop, but the effects played such a huge role, and on the other hand, how many times have we seen the same Star Wars effects?
Phoenix, Chicago and Vegas Critics Weigh In With Love for Natalie Portman, 'The Handmaiden'
More critics groups, coming steadily from now through January (or at least the end of the month). They split up two for Moonlight, one for La La Land this time, but you'll notice there does now appear to be a consensus emerging among the regional critics groups for Natalie Portman in Best Actress. Hmm. I may be flat out wrong about Emma Stone's chances after all.
CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
'The Handmaiden' is racking up critics wins all over the place
- Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, MOONLIGHT
- Best Original Score: JACKIE
- Best Cinematography: LA LA LAND
- Best Editing: LA LA LAND
- Best Art Direction/Production Design: THE HANDMAIDEN
- Most Promising Performer: Lucas Hedges, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- Most Promising Filmmaker: Robert Eggers, THE WITCH
- Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- Best Foreign Language Film: THE HANDMAIDEN
- Best Documentary: OJ: MADE IN AMERICA
- Best Animated Feature: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
- Best Original Screenplay: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- Best Adapted Screenplay: THE HANDMAIDEN
- Best Actor: Casey Affleck, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- Best Actress: Natalie Portman, JACKIE
- Best Director: Barry Jenkins, MOONLIGHT
- Best Picture: MOONLIGHT
Not a lot to note in this picks, except the ongoing love for The Handmaiden, which clearly should have been South Korea's Oscar entry. These guys loved it so much they gave it the screenplay award.
LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Natalie Portman appears to be gaining momentum in Best Actress
- Best Picture: La La Land
- Best Actor: Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
- Best Actress: Natalie Portman – Jackie
- Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
- Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis – Fences
- Best Director: Damian Chapelle - La La Land
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Nocturnal Animals
- Best Original Screenplay: La La Land
- Best Cinematography: La La Land
- Best Film Editing: Moonlight
- Best Score: La La Land
- Best Song: “City of Stars” – La La Land
- Best Action Film: Captain America: Civil War
- Best Documentary: O.J.: Made in America
- Best Animated Film: Kubo and the Two Strings
- Best Foreign Language Film: The Handmaiden
- Best Costumes: The Witch
- Best Art Direction: La La Land
- Best Visual Effects: The Jungle Book
- Best Comedy: The Nice Guys
- Best Horror/Sci-Fi: The Witch
- Best Family Film: The Hunt for the Wilderpeople
- Best Ensemble: Hidden Figures
- Breakout Filmmaker: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
- Youth in Film: Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
- William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award: Kirk Douglas
Vegas goes all in for La La Land, but still chooses Portman in Actress, which is now giving me pause, as I said earlier. I have a feeling Emma Stone is being perceived as playing herself in the movie- will the Academy agree and make Natalie Portman a two-time winner over the lead in the Best Picture frontrunner?
PHOENIX CRITICS CIRCLE
'The Lobster' has won several critics' prizes and could be a dark horse contender for an Original Screenplay Oscar nomination
- Best Picture: Moonlight
- Best Comedy Film: Hunt for the Wilderpeople
- Best Science Fiction Film: Arrival
- Best Horror Film: The Witch
- Best Mystery or Thriller Film: Hell or High Water
- Best Animated Film: Kubo and the Two Strings
- Best Foreign Language Film: The Handmaiden
- Best Documentary: O.J.: Made in America
- Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
- Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Jackie
- Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
- Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences
- Best Director: (Tie) Damian Chazelle, La La Land and Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
- Best Screenplay: The Lobster
- Best Score: La La Land
Oddly, there are two critics groups in Phoenix, so we haven't heard the last out of that city, but this one chose Moonlight and the consensus four acting winners, with a tie for the two directors in the running. I like the screenplay win for The Lobster, one of the most wildly original movies I've seen in years.
Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn Team Up for 'Snatched'
Amy Schumer was really excited to make this mother-daughter comedy romp with Goldie Hawn and basically pulled her out of retirement to do so, but...I don't know. It doesn't look that great to me. Despite that I can imagine it possibly doing well on Mother's Day weekend, if people are interested in the pairing and everything.
REVIEW: "Sully" (2016) Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart. Dir. Clint Eastwood
Tom Hanks is easy to take for granted by now, but this later stage of his career sees him inhabiting American heroes in that easy, understated, un-actorly way of his that makes him most natural in all of them, whether it’s Richard Phillips in Captain Phillips, lawyer James B. Donovan in Bridge of Spies or the latest, Captain Chesley Sullenberger in Clint Eastwood’s Sully. This one may be his most convincing yet- as the grizzled, serious, very modest professional, he comes across as a decent man befuddled at his recent celebrated hero status while he comes to grips with post-traumatic flashes of the event and prepares to defend his own actions on that fateful day of January 15th, 2009.
We remember this of course. That was the day that Captain Sully rescued all 155 people aboard US Airways Flight 1549 by successfully executing a water landing in the Hudson River after a flock of birds hit the plane less than 15 minutes after takeoff, blowing out both engines. All of New York’s rescue workers immediately came together to save the people stranded on the wings of the airplane as it balanced on the water in subzero temperatures, taking 24 minutes total to get everyone to safety. We remember the pictures, we remember the famous headline (“Miracle on the Hudson”) and we remember the pilot himself.
We may remember the event like it was yesterday, but I have to admit to wondering how they would stretch that event into a 90-minute movie, unless maybe it was going to go down in real time, Paul Greengrass-style. But that’s not Clint Eastwood’s MO of course, who films it as an unconventionally structured docudrama, following Sully and his co-pilot (Aaron Eckhart) on their media travails, while Hanks brings Sully’s uneasiness with his new celebrity, his money woes, and his professionalism to life. The plane crash itself takes place in three different flashbacks from three different angles, which does lend some credence to the idea that they had to stretch this out to feature film length. The phone calls between Sully and his wife (Laura Linney in a somewhat thankless woman-on-the-phone role) also feel like filler here. But the crash and rescue sequence delivers, as the intensity of the moment feels real and vivid, especially as the rest of New York’s emergency workers come together like a well-oiled machine to pull off the miracle.
Sully’s meetings with the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) took place eighteen months after the crash, but for economy’s sake are written into the film to happen within weeks of the incident, and behind closed doors during the ensuing media frenzy. Aside from the riveting crash sequences, it’s Hanks who holds the movie together, and by letting Sully be played by such an automatically sympathetic and inherently watchable screen star, we see once again what has made Hanks such a long lasting presence in American cinema. It’s his everyguy specialness, his ability to make the ordinary and every day occurrences seem bigger than that, therefore when one of his heroes pulls off the extraordinary, it’s that much more believable. When you see him like this it’s a reminder that his talent lies not so much in being himself as in being one of us. And you see again what a rare gift that is.
* * *
More Critics Love for 'Moonlight,' 'Hell or High Water'
More critics! The African-American Film Critics Association weighed in with a lot of love for Moonlight, while Dallas Ft. Worth agreed and San Diego went their own way, choosing to award Hell or High Water with the top spot.
AFRICAN AMERICAN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
- Best Picture: Moonlight
- Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
- Best Actor: Denzel Washington, Fences
- Best Actress: Ruth Negga, Loving
- Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
- Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences
- Best Ensemble: The cast of Hidden Figures
- Breakout Performance: Janelle Monae, Moonlight and Hidden Figures
- Best Independent Film: Moonlight
- Best Animation Film: Zootopia
- Best Song: "Victory," Hidden Figures
- Best Documentary: 13th
- Best Foreign Film: Tanna
- Best Screenplay: Fences
Moonlight, Fences, and Hidden Figures did very well here, as well as Ruth Negga (above) for Loving in Best Actress, which is nice to see. And a deviation in documentary towards Ava Duvernay's 13th, which is on Netflix right now for those interested.
SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
- Best Picture: HELL OR HIGH WATER
- Best Director: David Mackenzie, HELL OR HIGH WATER
- Best Actor, Male: Casey Affleck, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- Best Actor, Female: Sonia Braga, AQUARIUS
- Best Supporting Actor, Male – Tied: Ben Foster, HELL OR HIGH WATER & Mahershala Ali, MOONLIGHT
- Best Supporting Actor, Female: Michelle Williams, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- Best Comedic Performance: Ryan Gosling, THE NICE GUYS
- Best Ensemble: HELL OR HIGH WATER
- Breakthrough Artist: Lily Gladstone, CERTAIN WOMEN
- Best Original Screenplay: HELL OR HIGH WATER
- Best Adapted Screenplay: LOVE & FRIENDSHIP
- Best Documentary: WEINER
- Best Animated Film: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
- Best Foreign Language Film: MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART
- Best Editing: SULLY
- Best Cinematography: HELL OR HIGH WATER
- Best Production Design: HAIL, CAESAR!
- Best Visual Effects: THE JUNGLE BOOK
- Best Costume Design: LA LA LAND
- Best Use of Music in a Film: SING STREET
- Body of Work: Michael Shannon – NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, LOVING, ELVIS & NIXON
The San Diego critics really loved Hell or High Water and became the first critics group to give Best Picture to something besides the big three, which is a nice change. They also went for some interesting, outside the box choices in the techs as well.
DALLAS FT. WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
- BEST PICTURE: MOONLIGHT
- BEST DIRECTOR: Barry Jenkins, MOONLIGHT
- BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, JACKIE
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali, MOONLIGHT
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis, FENCES
- BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: THE HANDMAIDEN
- BEST DOCUMENTARY: TOWER
- BEST ANIMATED FILM: ZOOTOPIA
- BEST SCREENPLAY: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
- BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: LA LA LAND
- BEST MUSICAL SCORE: LA LA LAND
And Dallas Ft. Worth really didn't stray outside the norm at all, except for the animated movie Tower (above) in documentary.
Christopher Nolan Tackes WWII in 'Dunkirk' Trailer
I don't know about anybody else but this kinda looks like your generic WWII action movie to me. Probably more serious-minded, like with Oscar contention in mind, but where's the story and the characters? Is the whole thing set at the battle of Dunkirk, kind of like Black Hawk Down or something? I don't know- this doesn't seem like a Nolan movie, and I can't help but wonder if he really is trying to get the Academy's attention after their continual overlooking of him for his genre fare.
'Manchester' grabbed four SAG nominations this morning
'Manchester By the Sea' Leads the SAG Nominations
'Manchester' grabbed four SAG nominations this morning
Well, just when I've all but wrapped the Oscar race in my mind this year, here comes SAG with the outright snubbing of La La Land in Best Ensemble! That's the big surprise, since every single Best Picture winner of the past twenty years has at least been nominated for SAG's BP equivalent. Does that mean it can't win? I don't know about that. Lots of precedents have been broken in recent years. I think it can still go all the way, it'll just be the first movie to win without a SAG ensemble nod since Braveheart in 1995 (which was the very first year of the SAG awards, interestingly enough). On the other hand, these are the first industry nominations of the year, so the fact that they snubbed it (even though they did nominate both Gosling and Stone) could mean something. We just don't know yet.
Best Film Ensemble
“Captain Fantastic”
“Fences”
“Hidden Figures”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight”
Best Actor
Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”
Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington, “Fences”
Best Actress
Amy Adams, “Arrival”
Emily Blunt, “The Girl on the Train”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Emma Stone, “La La Land”
Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
Hugh Grant, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
Dev Patel, “Lion”
Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis, “Fences”
Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman, “Lion”
Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”
Best Stunt Ensemble
“Captain America: Civil War”
“Doctor Strange”
“Hacksaw Ridge”
“Jason Bourne”
“Nocturnal Animals”
Other things of note in these nominations- as was the case last year, there's no lack of diversity within SAG, as the 100,000 member branch includes many TV actors and the entire AFTRA wing, which means there's radio journalists and other TV people who aren't even actors in the voting membership. But this means no single category aside from Best Actress (hopefully that will change someday) is made up of all white people. So that's a good thing, but the categories usually match Oscar 4 for 5 or even 3 for 5, so there will be some names not included on Oscar morning. I'm guessing Emily Blunt's a no go, to be replaced by either Annette Bening or Isabelle Huppert. Hugh Grant is a question mark, but it looks like actors liked his and Meryl Streep's film Florence Foster Jenkins, so maybe there's a chance for him after all these years. And I don't know what's going on with this Captain Fantastic movie or why they liked it so much here, but the Best Actor category is weak so maybe that means Viggo gets in? Of the weak SAG nominees for BP at the Oscars, obviously it's that one and Hidden Figures- the rest are probably getting in. I'm not sure why Tom Hanks continues to be overlooked- he was great in Sully, but people must just think he's playing himself in these late career movies of his. One last note- if La La Land is still the Best Picture frontrunner, I would definitely expect Emma Stone to win Best Actress at SAG, since it's now pretty much the only place they can award the film.
Will Meryl Streep get her 20th Oscar nomination and bring Hugh Grant along for the ride with his first?
Charlize Theron Joins the Gang in 'The Fate of the Furious'
I have a feeling I have a better time watching the trailers for these movies than I would if I actually sat through them. It's also just funny to see how many different variations of titles using the words "fast" and "furious" they can come up with- is that like, one person's specific job now? The action looks as always, insane and beyond ridiculous, but I guess that's what people like about these. Eh. Good old-fashioned campy fun or just plain stupid? You tell me.
